Digestive Health

When I was first diagnosed with Crohn's Disease I had no idea that my love/hate relationship with food would be a struggle for the next 7 years.

Everyone has that one favorite food or drink that they have to have. Mine was Dr. Pepper and BigMacs! Little did I know that my favorites were causing so much havoc in my body. For the first year of my Crohn's journey, I continued to eat as I always did. I was constantly sick and taking so many steroids that I looked like a blowfish. I was so bloated and gaining so much weight. I was fatigued and had no energy to even complete daily tasks. Then my doctor suggested a new diet. No gluten, no sweets, no soda ! Telling me that was like telling me the world was ending.

I went no gluten and stopped drinking soda. It seemed like things got better but I was still having flareups at least twice a week. They just weren't as bad. I started doing a little research on digestive health. I learned what foods were easy to digest and which ones to avoid. I stopped eating nuts, beef, anything with red sauce, and cut back on fried and spicy foods. I learned fast what I could eat and what I couldn't. The experimentation with food went on for years.

In 2018 I started to replace anything that required burger like tacos or spaghetti with Turkey Burger or Chicken Burger. I found that it made a huge improvement in my digestive health. When I made chicken I baked it. I didn't eat anything fried. I also began to notice the weight loss. That with the fact that I would only drink water or tea also helped. I went on like that for 2 years. Still, I was having flare-ups and fatigue. Every time I had a bad flare up I had to go to the hospital to get Iv fluids and meds. I was functioning at the bare minimum. I learned what was causing my flare-ups was constipation. I would go a whole week without going to the bathroom and then boom it all came out at once. I started looking into holistic medicine. That's when I discovered the wonderful world of supplements. They improved my digestive health by 100%. In the last 6 months, I have only had one flare! From 3-5 a month that's a huge improvement.

What am I doing? I am only eating between the hours of 12-8. No beef, no red sauce, and no spices. I only eat chicken or turkey burgers and I do not eat anything that has a lot of sugar. Like candy bars or Ice cream. When I want a snack I eat vanilla pudding and Graham Crackers. I drink only water and occasionally have a cup of tea. I also take all-natural supplements which seem to be the key. I take one in the morning, one in the evening, and one at night. I have improved my digestive health, energy, and sleep. My mental clarity has also improved. Most don't realize that your gut is your second brain. I feel better and if I only have a flare-up once every 5 or 6 months I can live with that. That's way better than 3-5 a month. Hopefully, it stays that way and I can continue to live a more productive life. I like where I am in my life right now so I will continue on this path and see where it takes me.

https://annmiller.lifeactivated.com/